I want to talk briefly about three more of Jacob Hacker's grandsons before we move on. They were Newton Hacker, William R. Hacker, and Joseph Earnest Hacker--sons of Jacob Jr. and Sarah Lloyd Hacker. To reiterate, Jacob Hacker is a brother of Joseph Hacker, the ancestor of Hackers related to me. So these people are, at best, very distant cousins to us. However, Julius C. Hacker--Joseph's son and my gg grandfather--was a first cousin of Jacob Jr., the father of these three young men.
Jacob Hacker Jr. was born in Greene County, Tennessee in 1802. He grew up, married Sarah Lloyd on 3 Nov 1831, and lived out his life in Greene County. On the 1850 Federal Census, he is listed with his wife and three children, owning real estate worth $500. His occupation was as a teacher. So he had acquired some education, and did not become a farmer.
Each of Jacob's three sons also were well-educated and followed professions other than farming. Newton Hacker is listed as a lawyer on the 1900 Federal Census. William R. Hacker was listed as a teacher on the 1880 Federal Census, but was operating lead mines in Jasper County, Missouri soon after. Joseph E. Hacker was listed as working for the Dept. of Internal Revenue as a collector on the 1880 Federal Census for Greene County, TN.
A biographical was written about Newton Hacker and published in a book called "A History of Tennessee and Tennesseans by Will T. Hale and Dixon L. Merritt." This biographical described his distinguished military career during the Civil War, his law studies, his career as an attorney general of the 1st judicial circuit of Tennessee, a judge, and a lawmaker of the State of Tennessee. Early in the Civil War, Newton Hacker chose the Union side of the conflict and organized a Union militia company, believing that his company would be supplied with arms by the Federal Government. This did not happen, however, and Confederate forces in Tennessee forced such Union militias to disband. Their leaders hid out in the hills or escaped into Kentucky.
Newton Hacker joined a large company led by Captain James Lane that crossed the Cumberland mountains. He was eventually captured by Confederate forces in Kentucky and was held as a prisoner for several weeks. He was finally released in Lexington, Kentucky (where I now live), and returned to Greene County, Tennessee. There, he was formally recruited for the Federal Union army by Captain James Lytle Carter. They crossed the mountains into Kentucky, and he attached himself to Company A, Fourth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry.
Newton now had official papers from the Federal army, and he returned to Greene County, TN to recruit a force of 200 men that were to be sworn into the Federal US Army. So, he was right back where he started--leader of a small force of 200 men. This force traveled by night (the only way to do it) through the Tennessee mountains to reach Kentucky. His recruits were mustered into the Fourth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry in Louisville. Newton Hacker was given the rank of Lieutenant, but was later promoted to the rank of Captain. He served with that rank until the end of the Civil War. He was mustered out of the army in August 1865.
This story gives us a microcosm of the role that Kentucky played as a border state that never joined the Confederacy, but that had many Confederate sympathizers among its citizens. Both Union and Confederate armies functioned in different parts of Kentucky. Kentucky became the go-to place for Tennessee Union sympathizers who did not want to join, or fight for, the Confederacy. However, Newton Hacker was captured by a Confederate force in Kentucky, and held prisoner. In Tennessee, Confederate units would patrol the countryside looking for able-bodied men that they "recruited" for the Tennessee Confederate forces. Men were forced into Confederate service whether they liked it or not. So, many of them fled by night through the Tennessee mountains into Kentucky. Joel Hacker, son of Joseph Hacker and first cousin of Jacob Jr. (Newton's father), made the same journey through the mountains to Louisville, KY so that he could join the Union army. It was a difficult journey for the men who undertook it.
At the same time, the story tells us of the ideological split that existed in Tennessee. A large part of the populace did not want to join the Confederacy. But politicians at the top made that happen, and then they tried to force the general population to support the Confederacy. Census records show that the Hackers who lived in Tennessee did not own slaves. They were of German descent and, perhaps, did not believe in holding slaves. Or, they had smaller farms, and did not need slaves. Something like that. So, they saw no reason to fight in this war that was--to a great degree--about slavery. I say "to a great degree" because I have learned, while living in Kentucky, that Southerners do not believe the Civil War was about slavery. They believe it was about the Northern states trying to prevent the Southern states from developing a manufacturing-based economy which would compete with the North. So, the Southern states had to depend on an agricultural economy, and that meant large plantations growing cotton that needed slaves to provide cheap labor. I have heard this argument stated by people who are native Kentuckians, and I was a little surprised to say the least.
After the Civil War, Newton Hacker returned to Jonesboro, Tennessee and resumed his profession of teaching school. He studied law under Chancellor Seth J. W. Lucky, and was admitted to the bar at Jonesboro, Washington Co., Tennessee in 1866. In 1867 he was elected to the State legislature representing Washington County. In 1870 he was elected attorney-general of the first judicial circuit of Tennessee. In August 1878 he was elected to a judgeship for that same first judicial circuit of Tennessee and served an 8-year term.
Newton Hacker retired from the bench in 1886 and returned to his private law practice. He lived out his life practicing law, living in Jonesboro, Washington Co., Tennessee. He was active in the Republican Party and was highly regarded throughout the Eastern Tennessee region. He died in 1922. (Biographical information from "A History of Tennessee and Tennesseans by Will T. Hale and Dixon L. Merritt, Volume V, The Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago and New York, pub. 1913.)
Moving on to William R. (W. R.) Hacker, we find that he also had a biographical written about him. It was published in the "The Biographical Record of Jasper County" by Malcom G. McGregor, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, 1901. This biographical began with a description of W. R.'s family tree, beginning with Julius Hacker and Martha Beals of Pennsylvania. Julius Hacker, W. R.'s paternal great grandfather, came from Germany; the date 1720 is stated. It is not clear whether that is the date he was born or the date of his arrival in Pennsylvania. However, Hacker researchers have long stated that he was born in 1720 in Germany and emigrated to Pennsylvania sometime after that.
The Biographical continues with a fairly complete rundown of the children of Julius and Martha. It also states where some of them lived, who they married, and some of the grandchildren. This biographical was found by a Hacker researcher and made available on a Hacker forum in the late 1990s. Everyone was delighted because it was the first document to provide a relatively complete picture of the Julius Hacker family tree. Before that, information about this branch of the Hacker family was based on stories handed down verbally within families. Little documentary evidence had been found. For instance, no one has yet discovered what ship Julius Hacker came over on, or when he came to the New World.
The biographical has provided Hacker researchers with some guidance for their research. But it has been proven to have errors in it. It was probably based on family records kept by the Jacob Hacker family. Therefore, records for descendants of Jacob's brothers and sisters were somewhat less detailed, and error-prone. However, it is surprising how much information in the biographical has stood up under further scrutiny.
As to W. R.'s own life, the biographical states that W. R. was born in Greene County, TN and was the son of Jacob Jr. and Sarah Lloyd Hacker. He also served in the Union army during the Civil War, joining the 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Infantry in 1864. He served until the end of the war. In 1870 W. R. Hacker was living with his mother, Sarah Hacker, and younger brother Joseph in Greene County, TN. His father had died. His occupation was listed as "reading the law." So, he was getting an education as a lawyer. He married Margaret M. Brown of Greene County in 1872.
In 1880, W. R. Hacker moved to Joplin, Jasper Co., Missouri. His occupation was listed as "teacher." However, the biography states that he soon began prospecting and opening lead mines. It describes three different mines that he opened and developed. This brought great prosperity to Joplin and Jasper County. I can testify that when I visited my nephew John Hacker in Carthage, MO, I saw large mansions that had been built by citizens who were wealthy because of the lead mines. Since the biographical was describing an ongoing career, it showed him when he was at the height of it.
By the way, the lead mines petered out around 1945, partly due to a drop in the price of the metal. They are no longer the basis of the Jasper County economy.
In 1913, W. R. Hacker was listed as living in Leavenworth, Kansas at the National Military Home. He was 66 by that time. He lived out his life in that home, and died 23 Feb 1920.
Joseph Earnest Hacker was the 3rd child of Jacob Jr. and Sarah Lloyd Hacker. He was also well-educated, and went into the field of accounting and banking. No one wrote a biographical about him. He married Jessie R. Britton in Greene County in 1879. They lived in Greeneville, Greene Co., TN and had three children. His occupation was listed as a bank teller in 1900. By 1920 he was a bank vice president. He apparently held that position until his death 23 Dec 1932.
Although we are not descended from these distinguished gentlemen, we can take a little pride in knowing that some of our relatives did very well and distinguished themselves in their professions.
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